1. Field
This application relates to filtering technologies, the Internet and to pornography.
2. Description of Related Art
Pornographic and non-pornographic content are often communicated over modern day communication systems, such as the World Wide Web.
Many users of these systems want to distinguish between the pornographic content and the non-pornographic content in order to block the pornographic content and/or to control the manner in which it is delivered. Some users find the content to be offensive, psychologically harmful (e.g., to children), annoying, and/or inappropriate. Pornographic content is also often associated with undesirable SPAM, pop-ups, pop-unders, mouse traps, and browser hijacking.
It is often difficult to accurately distinguish between pornographic and non-pornographic content. Testing for the presence of certain words, for example, has often resulted in errors, as almost every word may be used in both pornographic and non-pornographic contexts.
Techniques for distinguishing between pornographic and non-pornographic content are also sometimes time-consuming, sometimes requiring either the user or some other person to create and/or maintain a list of target words and/or URL addresses.